Bosnia's Foreign Minister has phoned his Israeli counterpart to protest against suggestions that Bosnia is a potential breeding ground for terrorists. Sven Alkalaj said in a statement Thursday that such claims hurt Bosnia's international reputation. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Tuesday he has information that the Balkan region is "the next destination" for al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups to set up operations and pointed to areas populated by Bosnians and Albanians. Alkalaj said the Bosnian intelligence service and international organizations say there are no terrorist training camps and no terrorist cells in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He asked Lieberman to share any credible information.
President Boris Tadić today reacted to his Croatian counterpart Stjepan Mesić's decision to shorten prison sentence of a Croat war criminal. Mesić on Thursday reduced by one year jail time served by Siniša Rimac, convicted of killing 23 ethnic Serb civilians in Croatia in 1991. Today, Tadić said that Mesić's move was an "anti-civilizational" gesture that cannot be justified. "When the outgoing Croatian president pardons a criminal who killed Serb children just because they are of a different ethnicity, then that is an act that deserves every condemnation, a deeply anti-civilizational and anti-European decision [coming] from the other side of common sense," said the president. Tadić also pointed out that Mesić's "regrettable decision" was only one in a series, including today's visit to Priština, "which is in a very efficient manner spoiling relations with Serbia, leaving a serious and unnecessary burden to his successor". Tadić stressed that it is the task of all regional countries to fully cooperate with the Hague Tribunal, and that this means that those war criminals tried before domestic courts must get their deserved punishment. "That punishment must be justice and innocent victims served, and should in no way be reduced or annulled through discretionary decisions which essentially make crime relative and relieve the most horrid criminals of their guilt," the president said in his statement.
III. RadioSrbija - Spain against Kosovo Independence
As the new Chair of the EU, Spain will continue talks on the EU enlargement to include the West Balkans and will remain firmly in position not to recognize Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence - said Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. Noting that the Madrid is resolutely against Kosovo secession from Serbia, Moratinos indicated that it is necessary to maintain stability in the region and create conditions for constructive development of the Province. Pointing that the settlement of the dispute between authorities in Skopje and Athens on the name Macedonia is of particular importance for the regional stability, and, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers said that in the process of finding a solution, intensive consultations are underway with officials of Serbia, Montenegro and Albania.
IV. Katimerini - EU president Spain reaches out to Balkans
Spain said on Tuesday as the current holder of the European Union presidency that it is “fundamental” for the bloc to open its doors to new members, especially from the Balkans. Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told reporters that “there is no longer any reason to put obstacles in the way of a policy of open doors” now that the Lisbon Treaty, which aims to streamline decision-making in the 27-nation bloc, has taken effect. “It is fundamental to send this message,” he added during a meeting with European correspondents in Madrid. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and several other EU leaders had argued that the bloc would not be able to take in new members without the Lisbon Treaty, which was initially rejected by Irish voters in a referendum in June 2008 but later approved in a second vote in October. Last month, Serbia formally applied for EU membership, almost 15 years after the Balkan wars that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. Bosnia-Herzegovina is “the most fragile” of the nations of the former Yugoslavia, and Spain will dedicate greater attention to it during its six-month presidency of the EU, Moratinos said. Spain will not recognize Kosovo’s independence during its EU presidency but will have a “constructive attitude” toward its authorities, he added. Madrid has backed Turkey’s entry into the EU, a move opposed by heavyweights like France and Germany.
V. IrelandOn-Line - EU to open accession talks with Turkey 'in six months'
The EU hopes to open accession talks with Turkey in the next six months, according to Spain who hold the current EU Presidency. It is understood talks will focus on four new policy areas. The Spanish Foreign Minister said he is hoping for progress in a dispute between Turkey and Cyprus which is blocking Ankara's bid to join the 27-nation bloc.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had called for further action to destroy militants in the North Caucasus. “As far as militants are concerned, our policy remains unchanged. They should be physically destroyed,” said President Medvedev at a meeting with Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB). “This should be done in a tough manner and regularly because, unfortunately, the underground militant movement continues to exist,” he added. “We should not close our eyes to it and give some figures which may be non-existent. We should act resolutely and consistently all over the territory. If militants are detected in some place, they should be searched for and destroyed,” Medvedev said, adding, “Our task is to create a normal living environment on the territory of our southern republics.” It comes two days after the January 6 attack on a traffic police station in Russia's southern republic of Dagestan. A suicide bomber killed at least 5 policemen and injured 24 people, including 18 policemen. The head of Russia’s Interior Ministry Rashid Nurgaliev said that he is sure the terror act will be uncovered. “The potential of Dagestan's police and the first results of their inquiry into this terrorist attack confirm that this crime will be solved. However, investigators will have to analyze a long chain of events,” Nurgaliev told journalists on Friday. The minister added that some militants involved in the terror act were killed in a security operation on Thursday. “The information available to us confirms that this action was aimed at undermining stability and security in the republic,” Nurgaliev added.
VII. RFE/RL - Believers Mark Orthodox Christmas
From Russia to Ethiopia, Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian calendar are celebrating Christmas today. In Moscow, Patriarch Kirill celebrated a midnight Mass at Christ the Savior Cathedral. It was Kirill's first Christmas as leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. President Dmitry Medvedev was among some 4,000 people attending the service, which was broadcast on national television. "Christmas is a great celebration for all Orthodox Christians," churchgoer Tamara told Reuters. "It's renewal. It's good -- beauty and hope for a bright future." Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was in Kostroma, on the banks of the Volga River to celebrate Christmas mass. During Soviet times thousands of churches were demolished, including Christ the Savior Cathedral, which was rebuilt in the late 1990s. Orthodox Christmas became a public holiday in Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted the Moscow Patriarchate as saying there are some 30,000 Russian Orthodox churches around the world that will be marking Christmas on January 7 as well as other churches that still use the Julian calendar. Under the Gregorian calendar, used by other, predominantly Western churches and commonly in secular life, Christmas falls on December 25. Christmas celebrations were marked by tensions in some parts of the world. In the Balkans, Serbian President Boris Tadic celebrated Orthodox Christmas in Kosovo. Tadic spent the night with monks, lighting candles, burning yule logs, and attending midnight Mass at the Serbian Orthodox medieval monastery of Visoki Decani. Flanked by Bishop Teodosije of the monastery, Tadic pledged to come to the monastery "every year," adding that the sacred place represented "a guarantee of our identity." About 100 ethnic Albanians protested the visit, marching toward the 14th-century monastery, waving Albanian flags, and chanting anti-Serb slogans. The protesters were kept away from the monastery by NATO peacekeepers. In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, hundreds of pilgrims watched a procession led by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III. Palestinian riot police escorted the cleric to the Church of the Nativity to the sound of protests by Palestinians accusing Theophilos of selling land to Israelis. Celebrations turned violent in southern Egypt, where angry Christian Copts clashed with police today. The violence came after unidentified gunmen opened fire on a crowd leaving a church after Christmas Mass in the southern town of Nagaa Hammadi, killing six Copts and a Muslim policeman. According to government figures, Christians make up approximately 10 percent of Egypt's population, though many Christians say they believe the real figure is higher.